Shield for mouthpieces of telephones.



THURSTON M. LA JORD, or new YORK,

Y., assicexoa o sonvYLsa s. HAMPTON, or

NEW roan, v.

SHIELD FOR MOUTHPIECES OF TELEPHONES.

Specification of Letters Patent. Application filed luly '20. 1906. Serial No. 326,965.

Patented Dec. 1, 1908.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Ti-iunsrozv M. L.\ Joan, a citizen of the United States, residing at the city of New York, borough of Manhattan, in the county and State of New York, have inventeda certain new and useful Shield for Mouthpieces of Telephones, of which the following is a specification.

This invention is a sanitary shield especially intended for use on the mouth piece of a telephone, and the object in.v iew is the provision of a cheap device adapted to hold itself securely in place on the mouth piece.

An uncovered or open mouth piece of a telephone affords a chamber for the lodgment of dust, dirt. and disease germs from the breath of the users thereof. 4

Many persons object to the use of insanitary telephones, and to overcome such objections, I have devised a novcl construction of sanitary shield which is so cheap that it may be supplied to each individual using a telephone: in fact, the shield is well adapted for use as an advertising novelty. Prior devices of the same general character as myinvenlion are so constructed that the individual device does not hold-itself securely in place; in fact,,the device is liable to become displaced by moving the telephone over a desk, table. or other surface,

- or by touching the shield with the lips or shield.

the face in the act of talking into the mouth piece. Furthermore, such devices are comparatively more expensivethan the device of my invention. owing to the use in the former of fastenings which attach certain flaps to the body or front of the holding This is due tothe fact that after stamping the shield out of paper or cardboard, it. is necessary to fold certain flaps on the shield and thereafter fasten the l'laps by staples, such mode of procedure requiring a certain number of operations which, of course, involve time. labor, and consequent expense.

My new shield is characterized by threeadvantages which are of prime importance in a device of this character; first, it con structed for holding itself securely in position on the mouth piece so that it cannot be displaced or knocked off accidentally under ordinary conditions of use of the instruinent; second, the shield is so reinforced that it will not bend or buckle when'applicd to, and used forany considerable length of 2 is avertical cross-section on t time onfthe mouth piece; and,- third, the device exceedingly cheap of manufacture, so that it may be distributed gratuitously, as an advertising novelty.

The inventlon conslsts of a shieldprovided with a film-covered opening, wi s on said shield, and means forconnecting t e wings one to the other so as to hold them under tension and in engagement with a month piece. The aforesaid means'for conneetingthe wings may consist of'a-single elastic or spring, or a number of springs, or of any appropriate yieldable connection for holding the wings in engagement with a mouthpiece, one of the prominent features of my invention consisting broadly of means for connecting said wings.

Another part of the invention resides in means for reinforcing the front or exposed side of the shield. It. is foundin practice that the shield when applied is liable to bend or buckle, particularly when the wings are elastically mnnc.cted,'and to overcomethis objeetion,' l employ means for reinforcing the shield so that it will present a flat front side and eifectually cover the open front part of the mouth piece. ()ne means for'reinforeing the shield consists of flaps adapted to be folded in different directions from the \vingsand upon the shield. said flaps operat ing to hold the shield from bending in one direction andthe wings serving'a like purpose in an )th er direction. shield and the wings and flaps thereof are stamped or cut by dies in a single piece. of cardboard, or other material, and at the same time the material scored or creased to facilitate the operation of bending or folding the wings and the flaps.

' in the drawings, Figure l is a side elevation. showing my device applied tothe mouth piece of an ordinary tele hone; Fig. lie line 2--'2 of: Fig. 4; Fig. 3 is a horizontal cross-section on the line 3 of Fig. 4: Fig. 4 is a view in rear elevation of mynew shieldsdisconnet-ted from a mouth piece: and Fig. 5 isa plan view of the shield as cut or stamped. and-with a film attached to an openingot' the shield.

A designates a shield provided with an opening a, said shieldbcing preferably flat. and ofsuch a'sizeas to cover the mouth piece B, of an ordinarytelephone G, substantially as indicated by Fig. 1. Any

Preferably, the

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suitable material may be employed in the manufacture of said shield, but, for economy and for advertising pur oses,.I have found that a comparatively sti. sheet of cardboard is well adapted to the purposes of this invention, although it will beunderstood that I do not desire to limit myself to this particularmaterial.

The opening a. of the shield is covered The film D is applied-or secured to the inner or rear surface of the shield A. by any suitable means, such as by an adhesive or cementadapted to securely attach the film at its edge to the shield. The film may consist of a thin pliable sheet or layer of paper which is preferably not treated torender it antiseptic, although I may employ any material suitable for the purpose. A very thin sheet or layer of untreated tissue or parchment paper has been found to answer the-purpose exceedingly well.

As shown by Figs. 4 and 5 of the drawings, the shield A is approximately square, and on two of the edges of said shield are provided Wings E. It is preferred to make the wings integral with the shield A, and to bend or double saidwings on the score or crease line e, whereby the win s. may be folded upon the'shield and into a ping relation thereto. Thewings are provlded'with recesses e, which conform to the shape of the mouth piece B, and are adapted to fit snugly thereto, as presented by Fig. 1., and as will-be understood readily by reference to Fig. 4.

An important feature of the invention consists in the employment of means for yieldably or elastically connecting the wings E one to the other, and independently of any attachment of the win 's to the shield.

Various devices for thus yie dably connectmg the wings may be employed, such as springs, a yieldable or spring wire hoop or gagement with said wings,

band, or equivalent devices, but in the embodlment shown by Figs. 2, 8 and 4 of the draWin'gs, I employ an endless elastic connection F, the latter being shown as a rubpurpose of connecting.

her band. For the the elastic F to the wings in a manner to overcome any accidental separation, said wings are provided with notchesf, see F 4 and 5. The recesses e of the wings .E, are made in the side edges thereof, while the notches f, are provided in the respective end edges of said wing s,fwhereby the recessed edges of the wings engage with the mouth piece, and the band F may have proper ensubstantially as shown by Fig. 4L. The shield is, furthermore, provided with the flaps G, which extend beyond the edges not occupied by the wings E, said flaps extending outwardly.

from the shield on two of the edges thereof, while the wings extend outwardly from the 'two remaining edges of said shield. The

manner upon the a manner .to restrain it from bending or bdckling in another direction. It will be seen that the flaps and the wings thus cooperate in holding the shield in a fiat condition, when applied to a mouth piece, and that the parts wholly overcome any tendency of the shield to buckle, even under the tensionof the elastic connection.

.For economy in manufacture, it is preferred to cut or stamp the entire device, with the exce tion of the elastic band F and the film D, rom a single piece of paper having a certain amount of pliability, and in Fig. 5, I. have shown the SllllCl'A, its wings E, and the flaps G, as cut to the required form and creased or scored at one operation, whereby the shield may be manufactured rapidly and with great economy. It will be under stood that after cutting the article, it is only necessary to attach the film D, after which the articles may be packed in a flat condition for shipment and storage. Owing to the cheapness of manufacture, the device is well adapted for use as an advertising medium, and it is evident that any advertising or other matter may be printed on the ekposed side of the shield for the purpose ofnlisplaying such matter to the public. '\Vlien it 'Is desired to use the. article, the operator bends the flapsG on'the creased lines g. and afterwards folds the wings E on the creased lines 6, the wings overlap nng the shield and the flaps, and the latter lapping the shield.

substantially as indicated by Figs. 2, and 4. The shield may now be applied to the mouth piece B, by slightly opening the wings and the flaps, and slipping the device upon said mouth piece, the recessed edges 0, g, of the wings E, and the flaps G, engaging with said mouth piece. Finally, the elastic F, or its equivalent, is distended and adjusted into engagement with the notched edges j of the wings, whereby the elastic operates to draw the wings E firmly into engagement with the mouth piece. The elastic, or its equivalent, yieldably connects the wings-for the purpose of holding them firmly onthe mouth piece, and thus 'overcome any tendency of the shield to become displaced on said mouthpiece.

The shield, when applied, wholly covers the open end of the mouth piece, but owing to the sensitive character of the film D, the use of the shield does not in any way interfere with the transmission of speech through the telephone. fectually prevent the lodgment of dust, dirt, and disease germs, in the mouth piece, and the shield is so chea ,and can be applied so readily, that the individualnsers' of telephones may be supplied with shields for temporary use on the mouth piece. 7

Although I have shown and described my shield as especially adapted for the mouth piece of telephones, it will be understood that the invention is not strictly confined to use on this particular instrument, because I may employ said shield on the mouth pieces of other instruments. machinery or apparatus.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Let-.

ters Patent is 5 v V l. A shield for telephone mouth-pieces comprising a body portion, members folded upon said body-portion, said members being adapted for engagement with a mouth-piece,

and means elastically connecting said members, said means being independentof the mouth-piece to which the shield is adapted to be applied.

2. A shield for telephone mouth-pieces comprisin a body portion, means for reinforcing sa1d portion, whereby it is precluded from bending when applied to a mouth-piece, members folded upon said body portion and adapted for engagement with a mouth-piece, and an elastic connection between said members for retaining the latter firmly in ongagement with a mouth-piece.

3. A shield for telephone mouth-pieces comprising a'body portion provided with a diaphragm, members folded upon said portion and into overlapping relation thereto said members being adapted for engagement with a mouth-piece, and an elastic connection unitingsaid members and operating to place tension thereon, whereby the shield is adapted to be retained firmly in position on a mouth-piece.

4. A shield for telephone mouth-pieces comprising a body portion, wings integral with said body-portion and folded into overlapping relation thereto, said wings being adapted for engagementwith a mouth-piece,

' and elastic means connecting said wings for retaining them in position on the mouthpiccc, said elastic means being free from engagcment with the mouth shield is applied thereto.

5. A shield for telephone mouth-pieces piece when the comprising a body portion provided with a diaphragm-,notched wings folded upon said body portion ,and into overlapping relation thereto, salcl' wingsbemg adapted for en- The film and the shield etthe body-portion, wings overlapping the body-portion, and means for retaining the wings n position, sa1d flaps and the wings being adapted for-engagement with a mouthpiece.

8. A shield for telephone mouthpieces comprising a body-portion, flaps overlapping said body-portion, Wings overlapping the body portion and also overlapping said flaps, and elastic means connecting said wings.

9. In a" device of the class described, a shield provided on a plurality of its edges with flaps which are foldable relative thereto, and also provided on other edges with a plurality of wings which are. also foldablc 10. In a device of the class described, a shield, flaps foldable relative to the shield, and wings also foldable relative to the shield, said wings and flaps being foldable into lapping relation.

11. In a device of the class described. a shield, foldable flaps, and Wings foldablc into lapping relation to the fia 12. A shield for month pieces of telephones comprising a body having wings and flaps which are folded into lapping relation to the body and to one another.-

13; In a device of the class described, a

shield provided with lapping flaps and I wings, and means vyieldably connecting the wings.

' 14. In a device of the class described, a shield p'roi idcd with lapping recessed flaps and wings, and means connecting the wings ii'idcpcndently of the flaps.

15. A shield for telephone month pieces comprising a body provided. with a diaphragm, wings folded on said body and adapted for engagement with a mouth piece, and a separate elastic tension member engag ing said wings and adapted to draw the latter into engagement with said mouth piece. ..In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

SoHUYLnR S. Hmir'row, E. Len.

,on the shield, the flaps and the wings being foldable' in different directions. 

